Monday, April 16, 2012

I have come to the conclusion that drama is directly related to my bodily functions. Yep, you read that right. It. Must. Be.

I head into the bathroom to pee and my daughters diaper is falling off, or she falls down or one of my boys NEEDS me right then. I better not even think I can go #2... that's when my normally well behaved children decide they are part of the UFC or something (not all of the time, but.. you know.. enough). Clearly drama is tied to my bodily functions.

Thursday, April 12, 2012

So many of us need to slow down, step back and find the beauty around us. We need to appreciate the good things, smell the roses, smile, laugh... go for a walk. I'm guilty far too often of letting the little hard times consume me a bit too much. I let people's negativity effect me more than I should allow. I let too many beautiful moments go by without giving them enough recognition.

I want to tell you about a friend of mine. Someone who has really made me open my eyes. She's an amazing 30-something year old mom. She has a wonderful husband and 3 young, beautiful children. She's the kind of mom I should try to be more like. She encourages her kids to play in the dirt, jump in the mud, play with bugs and just be out in the sunshine and fresh air as much as possible. She's easy going, loving and fun. She is kind and doesn't judge people. She appreciates peoples differences and doesn't criticize. She's simple and beautiful. She is also battling advanced stages of an aggressive form of breast cancer. She had a double mastectomy and recently started the long road of chemo and treatment. She shaved her head in preparation of losing her hair and posted a picture of herself. I love her confidence. Even on the days that she is feeling terrible because of the chemo, she's still taking her children to the park, playing with them and doing everything she can. Despite the fact that she's facing something so hard, she's still amazing. She inspires me.

Her and I haven't known each other since childhood or anything. I met her almost 8 years ago, through her now husband who is friends with my husband and was stationed on the same submarine. Her and her husband were dating then. She's the kind of person that it feels good to be around because she is always smiling and always appears happy. We had a fun thanksgiving with them. She visited me in the hospital when I had my second son. We talked on the phone often during that time. We lost touch but I thought about her and her husband a lot and wondered how they were doing. We reconnected a few years ago and I was so excited to see the family they had made. She was pregnant for their third child by then. I remembered how much she wanted to be a mom and was so happy to see them as parents. They are such awesome parents.

While she inspires me, my heart breaks for her and her family. She is so strong, but I know it still has to be hard. I try to imagine how she might feel or how her husband must be hurting for her. It's so unfair for such wonderful people to have to deal with something so difficult. I wish I could fix it all for them. I think about their family every single day. I don't know the right things to say. I don't know if there are even right things to say. I hope I've done a good enough job of making them feel like I'm here for them as much as I can be, living so far away.

I need to appreciate the little things more. I need to cut more of the negative out of my life. I need to have more fun with my children. I need to smile more. I think a lot of us need to do these things. We need to find the beauty in life. We have no excuse. I have no excuse.

Sunday, April 8, 2012

The Easter Bunny might have been on a budget, but SHE was still pretty stinkin' cool and set up a little scavenger hunt for the kids to go along with their little Easter buckets!

I thought a cute little scavenger hunt would entertain the kids when they wake up in the morning! Nothing too crazy, 7 clues. They are hunting for their candy! There are 25 eggs in all. The eggs with the clues are numbered and each clue leads them to the next egg with another clue. In order to get the "final clue" from Mom and Dad, they must collect all 25 eggs that are placed all over downstairs!

Cute little buckets.

Working on the clues!

An egg hiding in the clean diapers!

Another egg hanging out with the vegetables!

The little bowls with their candy!

Come on, tell me this isn't an awesome hiding place for the candy!? What kid would think to look in there!?

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

This is something I've thought about for a few years now and I've briefly discussed with my husband a few times. Money and the number of children we have, leave us always assuming it's not even a possibility.

Adoption.

I've had this desire to adopt, even if it's just one child, for a few years now. We may not be perfect, but I know my husband and I provide a loving and stable home to our children. There are so many children out there who don't have that and I feel this tug at my heart to give one of them a family. Right now, we already have 6 of our own. I know I've heard of families with several adopted children, who have 12.. or 15 kids. I know even people with large families still do it. I want to know how. I want to know how these families get past the dismissal because of family size?

Another concern of mine is being a military family. My husband has nearly 7 years until he plans to retire. I know this is another obstacle to get past. How much harder would this make it?

I understand foster care is one way that makes the process a little easier and also more affordable. That brings me back to the military family part. I'm not sure foster care would be an option because of our family size already. Then of course there is the moving around. We'd have to find a way to remain in one state.

This is me just "thinking out loud" really. I have absolutely no idea if it's something within reach for us. I'd love to hear from big families who have done this. If you are one or if you know someone who has, please email me if you're willing to share your experience. OrganizedChaosBlogs (at) gmail dot com

Monday, April 2, 2012

Why is it such a big deal all over the celeb gossip shows, sites etc. about January Jones eating her encapsulated placenta (It's in pill form, people!), Mayim Bialik breastfeeding her 3 year old and Alicia Silverstone basically bird feeding her 10 month old? I'll admit, the chewing up the food thing I haven't heard much of, but the encapsulated placenta and extended breastfeeding is not something even remotely new or strange. It's been commonly practiced outside of the US for ages and within the US these have become more and more popular in recent years.

Encapsulating the placenta is something I could have chosen to do. I have never done it, but I knew it was available to me if I chose to do it. Animals eat their placenta after giving birth because it provides them with necessary nutrients that their depleted bodies need to recover from birth, nurse their babies etc. As humans, especially humans not living in serious poverty, we may not need these nutrients because we have access to vitamins and good nutrition, but some women choose to utilize this natural form of nutrients and vitamins.

Extended breastfeeding is the norm in other cultures. It's gaining popularity in the US and I think that is awesome! There are numerous benefits to breastfeeding longer than the "acceptable" 6 months or 1 year. Both nutritional and emotional.

Now, this chewing food and spitting it into the baby's mouth thing, well, it might be something I haven't heard too much of, but what's the big deal? If it's your child and you're helping to nourish them, why is that so gross or nasty? Is the alternative of the yucky jar food, that can have a certain number of bug parts and rat hairs according the the FDA's guidelines, really so much better? Chew on that thought.

So here is where I'm going with this. I think that instead of these things being talked about as if they are gross and weird, they should be embraced. These are mothers practicing different aspects of attachment parenting. They are doing what they feel is best for their children. I've never encapsulated my placenta, all of my children have self weened well before 3 and I don't chew their food for them (well... technically I don't. I have fed them my food, biting pieces small enough for them, so it's almost the same thing. And, lets not mention how many parents have popped a bite of food their kid spit into their hand, into their own mouth.) While I may not practice what these mothers practice, I don't think it's fair for the choices to be looked down upon because they are "gross", "weird" or whatever else people have called them.

These celebs are not some kind of pioneers in a new form of parenting. None of these things are new, so the media should quit saying they are.

TBI

Traumatic Brain Injury Awareness Matters!

OrganizedChaosBlogs@gmail.com

*The two who started it all*

Hello There! My name is Sarah and I am the wife and full time Caregiver to my Disabled Veteran husband Tony. We have 6 awesome children together. After my husband's last brain injury in 2014, our life was flipped upside down and we have been rebuilding within our new normal ever since. Tony's TBI has left him fully disabled with a long list of brain injury related conditions and his 18 years of military service has left him with several more, including PTSD. Follow us on our journey, ride this roller coaster with us and maybe learn some things along the way!